Unfair Advantage

CHAPTER TEN



Brand had chosen this spot to wait for several reasons. Most of all, because for the past week his intended target had walked home through the park via this route. He didn\'t have to wait long. The young blond - Nathan Narrows - jogged into sight.



He stopped just short of Brand. Smiling, flushed from his evening soccer game, Nathan said, "Man, you\'ve skulked here for at least three days. Gonna ask me or what?"



Brand stepped from the tall bushes. "What do you expect me to ask?"



Nathan glanced around as if to make certain no one listened. "I knew word got around. But, I\'m underage. You guys want your meat young, better keep this shit on the down low."



Brand forced his expression to contain the surprise at this revelation. In all his surveillance, he\'d seen nothing to make him suspect, let alone expect this. However, it presented a unique opportunity. "I\'ve been trying to make up my mind."



The kid smirked, gave Brand the up-and-down. In a very world-wise tone replied, "You don\'t look like the indecisive type. More like pussy for the entree, boys on the side."



"I have something very special to propose."



"If the money\'s right, I\'m in."



Leverage. The kid had shown his hand. Brand filled in the gaps. Nathan had become a sought after commodity in a specific market. Physical maturity of body, boyish handsomeness of face and forbidden youth, made him the chosen in Brand\'s enterprise. It also landed Nathan in a business.



"I have a web site," Brand began, "my clients would love to see you in action."



"Risky." Nathan shrugged. "Your ass not mine if caught."



"No danger of that."



"How many figures we talking?"



"Five."



"No shit?" He ran a hand over his tousled hair. Interest brightened his dark blue eyes.



Brand responded, "No shit. Cash upfront."



"When and where?"



Giving it some quick thought, Brand formed a plan. "Can you get away this Friday. Four?"



"My old\' man always stays late at the office and Mom has Bridge Club. Nobody home until after nine."



Cool satisfaction flowed. He did some swift rethinking. "That will make my job easier." Taking out his wallet, he handed the kid two hundreds. "Take a cab to the meat packing district. There\'s a club called Skin. I\'ll meet you in the parking area across the street."



Nathan accepted the money, tucked it into his shorts. "Will I work with you?"



Flirtation in the question came through too obvious for second-guessing. Brand arranged his features into a warm smile. "I wouldn\'t trust it to anyone else."







Dani snapped the leash on Buddy, took him with her for the first part of her morning exercise. Then she put him in his new crate and set out for a serious hike. Three hours later she returned, saw the readout on her answering machine showed six messages, and ignored it to take him for a pee. Preparing his morning ration of dry food, supplements and boiled chicken, Dani found herself thinking of Michael.



Her entire body convulsed in a shiver. Buddy growled, whined. She closed her eyes for a moment. Turned her head and opened them.



Michael stood mid-kitchen. "I was fishing with Grandpa."



Dani\'s knees threatened to fail. She braced herself on the counter. Sharp, dawning realization sapped strength and warmth. "That day in the garden, when I asked you how you come to me, you told me it just happened."



"Yeah."



She felt almost nauseous. Buddy stood stiff, stared at the spirit as if he saw. "Michael, what about the first time you came here?"



"I walked from my Grandma\'s kitchen to outside your bedroom."



That night she\'d wakened to see him, what if she\'d dreamed of him. What if Michael didn\'t just arrive? What if she summoned him? The implications rippled.



"I think I may have called you." She watched his features, struck anew at how alive and solid he appeared.



In a curiously adult tone he responded, "I didn\'t tell Grandma about you. You said to bring her, but." He bit his lip. "She doesn\'t know she\'s dead. This would really wig her out."



Hot tears welled, spilled. Dani smiled through them. Her heart ached for him. "Michael, you\'re very brave. Go back to your grandparents\' house, okay?"



He turned, faded as he walked away.







Roarke fought the bed until four. Bouts of dozing and waking left him more wired than tired. He rose, dressed for kayaking, took his craft to Hudson Bay. Stretches first, then two hours paddling left his upper body aching and his mind more clear. Roarke returned home for a lower body workout with weights.



His cell rang as he headed to the shower. "Larkin."



"Captain Ferreli, Larkin. We have a missing persons that may be another snatch."



"Have you called Fielding?" He yanked the shirt off, put the phone back to his ear.



"He\'s en route forthwith."



"At the house in twenty."



"We\'ll expect you."







Ashlyn pulled up beside Dani\'s Camry. The cabin\'s open windows allowed the scent of whatever Dani cooked to waft outdoors. Eggs, cheese and herbs. Zucchini maybe. Yum. Walking up to the porch, Ashlyn knocked on the door.



"I have arrived!"



"Come in!"



Yesterday Ashlyn knew Dani had received several messages from her mother, one from Francois at the Plaza telling her he would ship the shoes she\'d left, one from herself, and another from a woman named Peta Seymour. Dani had returned all but the last, she\'d said. Then she\'d spent a much needed day relaxing.



Ashlyn blew into the kitchen, set her bag with the wine and dessert on the counter, her small, very new Versace packed for the night on the floor. "What\'s for dinner? I\'m starved."



Dressed in a short slim-fit tee in sage, jeans and standing barefoot, Dani managed to look elegant. "The lettuce wrap spirals with black olive hummus from Nelson\'s deli. Spinach-sun-dried tomato quiche from Terrace Cafe. And, zucchini fries I made myself."



"I made peach-vanilla ice cream last night, so I brought some." She withdrew it from it\'s cold pack in the bag. "I\'ll pop it in the freezer and pour the wine."



Ashlyn noted her friend\'s more relaxed manner. The new addition lifted his head once to make certain he knew who\'d arrived, then stretched back out to resume his nap under the table.



"I swear, Dani. That puppy seems to have grown already."



"His belly anyway." Dani opened the oven, peered in. Mouthwatering steam rose. "He\'s eating so much I called the vet."



"What did they say?\' Ashlyn walked to slide the container of ice cream into the freezer, then took the corkscrew from the drawer, closed it with her hip.



"She suggested I buy kibble in bulk."



They sipped Pinot Grigio, wiped out the lettuce wraps while the quiche and zucchini finished. Ashlyn found Dani\'s contrasts almost painfully endearing. The girl put out Baccarat for vino, served the entree on plates she\'d bought at the local supermarket. When they broke out the ice cream, Dani produced hand-blown parfait cups for filling.



Later, as they lie in Dani\'s bed, the puppy between them, Ashlyn asked, "Are you okay now?" The question had chewed at her without relent. She felt so responsible for getting her friend into this.



"Getting there."







Dani jackknifed upright in bed. Watery gray light trickled into the room. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Rain pelted upon the cabin\'s metal roof. Buddy continued to snore.



Ashlyn rolled toward Dani. "Something wrong?"



Glancing at the clock, she saw that despite the dimness that made it appear later, they\'d only slept until ten after nine. "I don\'t know." Her heart continued to pound. Remnants of a dream swirled beyond full recall. Only the memory of choking smoke and soulless black eyes remained. "Something may have happened." She tossed back her side of the covers, swung her legs over the edge. "Sleep. I\'m going for a hike."



"It\'s raining, honey," Ashlyn replied sleepily.



Dani pulled the sheet and thick comforter back up to cover her friend and Buddy. "See you soon."



She changed from a sleep tee and flannel pj shorts to a short sleeved Henley, worn Levis and soft hikers. On her way to the door, she grabbed her hooded rain coat.



Outside on the porch, she paused. The rain always brought alive the smell of the trees and earth. Today it made the air feel different. Autumn would soon arrive. Dani descended the steps. Drops tapped her hood, struck her hands. She turned west, struck out at a warm-up pace.



Delving into the past wasn\'t something she allowed herself often. For the most part, she compartmentalized. Previous life as Danielle Richards, Manhattan advertising prodigy and future real estate mogul. Present life as Dani Richards, quiet woman who lived in simplistic solitude.



Steven\'s face appeared in her mind. Poor Steven. He\'d done nothing but adore her. Wanted to marry and cherish her. Before the accident she humored him when unavoidable, mostly used him as a handsome escort. Afterward, she\'d withdrawn so completely in order to cope. She had refused to see him. Even speak to him. Finally kept him at bay with a restraining order.



To deal with the catastrophic turn her life took, Dani severed all ties to her former life save for her parents. Right or wrong she\'d seen no other way to survive the horrendous change.



Dani shook her ruminations, attacked the terrain with all her energy.







Ashlyn couldn\'t fall back asleep. She crawled from the bed, took a time to brush her hair and teeth, wash her face, dress and then went to start the coffee. As she went through the motions, she wondered what woke her friend. Buddy came skidding into the room, glancing around.



Thinking he looked for Dani, Ashlyn said, "It\'s okay. She\'ll be back soon." Then she heard the sound of a car coming up the gravel drive. A dark blue sedan with a \'City of New York\' plate pulled slowly up onto the grass beside the other vehicles. Everything about the strange automobile screamed cop.



Ashlyn\'s blood boiled. She stormed from the kitchen, barefoot out onto the porch. A big dark man got out of the driver\'s side. He had the kind of face that made women swoon. A body they\'d sell their souls to claim.



Larkin.



Bastard.



She stared at him as they approached, and descended the steps to intercept them. When he stopped two feet from her, Ashlyn fired an opening volley. "Dani isn\'t obligated to you in any way. I hope your man enough to recognize that."



"You know me." The voice matched the package. Sexy, commanding. "May I ask who you are?"



"Ashlyn Parries, Detective Larkin."



A new voice said, "Ms. Parries, we understand how generous Miss Richards has been with her time. We already owe her more than words can express."



Ashlyn turned her head. The second cop stood maybe six one or two. Blondish brown hair. Sort of spiky. Blue-gray eyes, slim straight nose, nice mouth. A bolt of shocking attraction lit her fuse. Ashlyn fought showing any sign of how he liquefied her pelvis. No way. She went for six foot four plus specimens of gold standard male beauty, with muscle to spare and contracts in major contact sports.



"Fielding?" She hiked one brow, played cool.



"Yes, ma\'am."



"I guess cop training doesn\'t cover the medical field. So, I\'ll tell you. What happens to her when she does these psychic bloodhound junkets for you, it could kill her."



He stepped closer. Something fierce flashed in his eyes, throbbed in his voice. "I live with that every second."



She closed the distance further. "Yet you\'re willing to use her." He smelled of soap and a little of cigarette smoke. Another strike that should have counted against him. Still she caught herself suffering the inexplicable attraction.



"Lives are at stake."



"I agree!" Her emotions soared in an uncontrollable flux. "Hers!"



"A fourteen-year-old kid\'s!"







Roarke stepped aside to watch. Fielding always choked around pretty women. This black woman redefined beauty. Short sassy jet hair, refined features, creamed coffee skin. Body a blend of curves and female muscle, scaled to ultra-petite.



Fielding stood toe to toe with her, yelling down in a tone Roarke had never heard the guy use. After a few minutes Roarke walked away from the porch, scanned the lake shore. Mist rolled over the water. Thunder rumbled. Then, he saw her.



At this distance he couldn\'t see her face within the hood. Rain-slick navy with green trim coat. Slim legs below. He mentally recited everything he knew wrong about this growing attraction. He walked along the shore to meet her. As the distance between them closed, Roarke could see the fragile elegant features within the hood. The haunted look in her eyes nearly killed him.



"He\'s taken another one." No question in the words.



"Two nights ago we think. The timeline\'s a work in progress."



She stopped. "I don\'t know if I\'m strong enough to help."



"You\'re all we have."



Dani\'s eyes shifted focus. She frowned. "Why is your partner shouting at my friend?"



"Beats the hell outta me." He noticed she didn’t say, ‘Why is Tim shouting at my friend?’. Feminine loyalty, maybe.



She fixed him with a very female expression of disapproval. "Then maybe we should stop him." She strode toward the cabin.



Roarke fell in step beside. "That other voice screeching curse words belongs to your friend," he pointed out.



"She is not screeching."



Roarke left it alone. As he and Dani approached, Fielding ran a hand through his hair.



"Larkin, this woman\'s nuts."



"Me?" Ashlyn demanded, poked Fielding in the chest twice in succession. "Who\'s the lunatic cretin rolling in up here expecting a woman to risk her life for you?"



Roarke put in, "We\'re asking her to help a victim."



The petite woman whirled on him, chocolate eyes flashing. "Oh I know you\'re not going to try that slick cop shit with me. You\'re out to use her to make yourself look good. You don\'t even believe in her power."



"Not at first," he countered. "She\'s proven herself."



Those dark eyes narrowed at him in a way that made the hair on his nape prickle. "Dani shouldn\'t have had to prove anything to anyone. She came to help despite the risk of exposure."



Roarke had no defense. "You\'re right."



"Damn straight." She reached out, took Dani\'s hand. "Come on, honey."



Roarke saw Dani squeeze her friend\'s hand, release. "Ash, let me speak to the detectives alone."



The other woman shook her head. "If you\'re going to have negotiations with New York’s finest, I\'m staying as a witness."